Wind turbine power module mounted on the tower foundation

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method of constructing a wind energy plant and to a wind energy plant as such. In one aspect, the invention provides a method for constructing wind energy plants at lower expenses and more rapidly. According to one embodiment, a method for constructing a wind energy plant that comprises a tower that is based on a foundation and an electrical power module, the power module is mounted on the tower foundation before the tower itself is constructed. The power module includes a transformer and may optionally an inverter and/or other electrical installations, such as for example switch cabinets, that are provided for controlling the wind energy plant and/or for guiding the electrical power that is provided by the generator of the wind energy plant and that is fed to a network.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of application Ser. No.10/477,299 (still pending), filed Nov. 10, 2003, which is the NationalStage of International Application No. PCT/EP02/10212, filed on Sep. 12,2002, which claim priority to German Patent Application DE 101 45 414.7,filed on Sep. 14, 2001.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The invention concerns a method for constructing a wind power plant aswell as the wind power plant itself in its configuration.

Thus far, when constructing wind power plants there is first produced afoundation, then the tower of the wind power plant is erected andsubsequently the machine house is outfitted at the tip of the tower andthe rotor is affixed with the rotor blades. After this, the electricpower modules such as transformer, switch cabinets, possibly inverters,a medium-voltage system, a low-voltage distribution, etc., areinstalled. This is almost always done in a special small buildingoutside the wind power plant.

In DE 198 16 483.1 it has already been proposed to accommodate thetransformer inside the tower, so that it is no longer necessary toconstruct a special transformer building with its own foundation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the invention, now, is to develop a method by which theconstruction of wind power plants can be done even more advantageously,but especially even faster.

The purpose is achieved by a method with the features of claim 1 and awind power plant with the features of claim 2. Advantageous furtherdevelops are described in the subsidiary claims.

According to the invention, it is proposed, in departure from the designof wind power plants heretofore, after constructing the foundation ofthe wind power plant, to place the essential power modules, i.e.,transformer, switch cabinets, etc., on the foundation and only thenerect the tower, so that all of the power modules after the erection ofthe tower are protected in the region of the tower foundation or in thelower part of the tower and rest safely on the tower foundation.

The power modules are prefabricated as much as possible and mounted oncarriers, so that the power modules can be set up on the towerfoundation by a crane, which is needed anyway to construct a wind powerplant, and the entire operational readying, especially the laying ofcables and the entire operational preparation of the wind power plant,can occur in a protected space by adjustment of individual controlmodules, outfitting of the switch cabinets, etc., and these activitiescan commence once the tower has been constructed.

It is also especially advantageous for the carriers of the power modulesto have support feet, which in turn rest on prepositioned plates on thetower foundation. These plates are already fitted in front of determinedpositions during the creation of the foundation and they are fixed tothe foundation so that the power modules can also be set up afterwardsin very simple way and manner.

Finally, it is also very advantageous to provide empty conduit crossarms in the foundation of the wind power plant for the cables leadingout from the plant, i.e., especially the power transmission cables,control cables, etc., and to install these empty conduit cross arms inpredetermined positions. For this, the cross arms are held by holdingarms, which in turn are fixed in portions of the foundation or in thelower section of a tower. With these empty conduit cross arms, theregion of the cable laying can be exactly predetermined and also inparticular laid such that the cables extending from the power module tothe foundation have the shortest and an optimal cable route.

The measures according to the invention thus also facilitate the overallelectrical equipment of the wind power plant by a prefabrication ofindividual modules such as the empty conduit cross arms, power modulecarriers, etc., as early as the construction of the foundation.

With the steps according to the invention, the entire construction timefor the wind power plant can be considerably shortened. Also, with theinvention, the costs for the overall equipment of the wind power plantcan be reduced, without having to balance this with technicaldisadvantages of any kind.

The invention shall be explained more closely hereafter by means of anexample shown in a drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a section of a foundation for a windpower plant, prior to filling the section of the foundation withconcrete;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a power module positionedon the foundation of FIG. 1, after filling the foundation with concrete;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the power module of FIG. 2 along with arepresentation of the foundation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the power module of FIG. 2 along with arepresentation of the foundation of FIG. 1 and an erected tower prior tosliding the tower over the power module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a top view of a prearranged foundation (without concretefill) with a steel reinforcement 1 and 2, on an empty conduit 3, whichis supported via a brace 4 with a lowermost tower section adjoining thereinforcement. Furthermore, one notices carrier plates 5, which arearranged for holding arms 6 in the lowermost tower section (which willno longer be visible after constructing the wind power plant).

The empty conduit 3 afterwards serves to accommodate cables, such as thepower cable, by means of which the entire electric energy of the windpower plant is taken away to the network via ground cables. Often,several pipes are provided for this, rather than only one pipe.

FIG. 2 shows the foundation section after filling the concrete. Here,one notices that the empty conduits remain in their previously fixedposition and the carrier plates have also been invested with concrete;during the concreting, it is important that the carrier plates lie snugon the structural concrete and thus afford a load support spread outover a surface. The concrete reaches to the upper edge of the carrierplates and is carefully worked at the edge of the plate.

After the hardening of the concrete, the holding arms for holding thecarrier plates and also the cross arms for attachment of the emptyconduits can be dismantled and used again to construct other plants.

After the hardening of the concrete, when constructing the rest of thewind power plant, the tower is not placed on the lowermost foundationfor the tower section—as was usual heretofore—but instead a power module7 is first placed on the carrier plates 5 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4).

Such a power module 7 is shown in FIG. 3 in a two-part design, althoughthe power module can also consist of additional parts.

The two parts of the power module 7 are placed one on the other in thedepicted example and the overall power module consists of twofitted-together carriers 8, which in turn support important parts of thepower modules, i.e., the transformer, inverter, switch cabinets,medium-voltage layout, etc.

The fitted-together carriers 8 are constructed in the manner of a frameand fit together exactly, so that a reliable securing to each other isalso assured.

The individual carriers have four vertically oriented spars—subtending arectangle—joined together at the bottom. These spars are screwedtogether at their lower and upper end.

After mounting the electric power module on the foundation, the tower 9is erected (FIG. 4) and slipped over the power module. For this, theouter dimensions of the power module in terms of width and length aresmaller than the inner diameter of the tower in the lower towerregion/foundation region.

After erecting the tower, the wind power plant is outfitted with themachine house, as usual, the rotor is mounted, and appropriateelectrical connections are produced between the generator and the powermodule 7 to enable operation and the power module (output of thetransformer) is also hooked up to the power supply network.

When the above described empty conduits or devices provided for layingthe cables have been previously secured in particular prescribedposition, the connection between the power module and the network canalso be produced extremely fast and advantageously, with minimal overallcable lengths, because the empty conduits are positioned where they mateprecisely with the corresponding parts of the power module.

In the wind power plant of the invention, it is also advantageous forthe access to the wind power plant to no longer necessarily be through aconventional door in the fixed region of the foundation, but insteadthrough a door (access) which is positioned so that it emerges in theregion above the parts of the power module carrying the high or mediumvoltage. For this, a corresponding ladder or stairs can be provided onthe outside of the tower. This positioning of the access door has theadvantage that the personnel who have to visit the plant frequently donot have to constantly walk past the parts of the power module carryinghigh or medium voltage when the plant is in operation. This also ensuresthat no one is in direct proximity to the power module by accident ormistake during the operation of the wind power plant and makes contactwith the parts carrying voltage or current, which might cause a majoraccident.

In the region of the access door of the tower, an appropriateintermediate platform is then provided, which can be used by personnelentering the tower, so that they can move up higher in the wind powerplant on the inside of the tower or make adjustments to various controldevices or read off measurement data.

A wind power plant of the invented type generally has available morethan 100 kW of rated power, preferably a power rating in the range of500 kW, 1 MW, 1.5 MW, or considerably more. Preferably, the intermediateplatform is provided with a locking plate, through which the personnelcan enter the lower region of the power module. Locking of the hatchaffords further protection of the lower part of the power module againstunauthorized access.

The inner diameter of the tower in the foundation region can be severalmeters, so that the overall surface there is 100 m² or more andtherefore a sufficiently large area is also available to accommodate thepower modules. Insofar as the term “power module” is used in thisapplication, it means the medium and high voltage carrying part of thewind power plant. These are, in particular, the units such astransformer or inverter or emergency switch and the medium voltageswitch cabinet or also the low voltage distributor.

1. A method of constructing a wind power plant having (i) a foundation,(ii) a tower, (iii) a generator disposed on the tower, and (iv) atransformer, the method comprising: arranging a form of the foundation;providing the foundation; placing the transformer on the foundation;erecting or constructing the tower on the foundation after placing theelectrical transformer on the foundation, wherein the tower is erectedor constructed around the transformer; mounting the generator on thetower; and mounting rotor blades on the rotor, wherein the rotor bladesare exposed to wind.
 2. The method of claim 1 further includingarranging at least a portion of a conduit at a predetermined locationwithin the form of the foundation and prior to providing the foundationso that the portion of the conduit is fixed in the foundation afterproviding the foundation.
 3. The method of claim 2 further includingconnecting an electrical cable to the transformer wherein at least aportion of the electrical cable is disposed in the portion of theconduit which is fixed in the foundation.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein the wind power plant further includes a switch cabinet which iselectrically coupled to the transformer, and wherein the method furtherincludes placing the switch cabinet on the foundation before erecting orconstructing the tower on the foundation.
 5. The method of claim 4further including: arranging at least a portion of a conduit at apredetermined location within the form of the foundation and prior toproviding the foundation so that the portion of the conduit is fixed inthe foundation after providing the foundation; and connecting electricalcables to the transformer and the switch cabinet wherein at least aportion of the electrical cables are disposed in the portion of theconduit which is fixed in the foundation.
 6. The method of claim 1further including: mounting the transformer in a carrier prior toplacing the transformer on the foundation; placing the carrier on thefoundation after mounting the transformer therein; and securing thecarrier to the foundation.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprisingtransferring the electrical power to a power network located outside thewind power plant via an electrical cable.
 8. The method of claim 1wherein providing the foundation includes filling the form of thefoundation with concrete.
 9. The method of claim 1 further including:arranging a plurality of carrier plates at predetermined locationswithin the form of the foundation so that carrier plates are fixed in,on or to the foundation after providing the foundation; mounting thetransformer in a carrier prior to placing the transformer on thefoundation; placing the carrier on the foundation after mounting thetransformer therein; and securing the carrier to the carrier plates. 10.An offshore wind power plant manufactured according to a methodcomprising the method of claim
 1. 11. A method of constructing a windpower plant having (i) a foundation, (ii) a tower, (iii) a generatordisposed on the tower and driven by a rotor of the wind power plant,(iv) a transformer, and (v) a switch cabinet, the method comprising:arranging a form of the foundation; arranging a plurality of carrierplates at predetermined locations within the form of the foundation;providing the foundation, wherein the carrier plates are fixed in, on orto the foundation after providing the foundation; mounting thetransformer and switch cabinet in a carrier; placing the carrier on theplurality of carrier plates after mounting the transformer and switchcabinet therein; erecting or constructing the tower over or around thetransformer and switch cabinet after placing the carrier on theplurality of carrier plates such that the tower's weight is supported bythe foundation.
 12. The method of claim 11 further comprising securingthe carrier plates with support members prior to finishing providing thefoundation.
 13. The method of claim 11 further comprising arrangingconduits in the foundation to route cables connected to the transformerand/or the switch cabinet.
 14. The method of claim 11 further comprisingtransferring the electrical power to a power network located outside thewind power plant.
 15. The method of claim 11 wherein the carrier platesare set in the foundation at predetermined locations.
 16. The method ofclaim 11 wherein providing the foundation includes filling the form ofthe foundation with concrete.
 17. The method of claim 11 furtherincluding securing the carrier to the plurality of carrier plates. 18.An offshore wind power plant manufactured according to a methodcomprising the method of claim 11.